Ben Blewett High School - Brochure Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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THE FIRST ST. This year celebrates the one hun- dredth anniversary of the first St. Louis orchestra. lt was started through the need of the Ludlow- Smith Theater Company and con- tained two violins, two clarinets, two horns, two trumpets, one alto violin, one violin cello, one double bass, one flute. one trombone, and drums. It gave its first performance in Ianuary of 1838, at one of the theater com- pany's plays. under the direction of a violinist named C. W. Meuller. Music appreciation was at a low ebb in St. Louis at this time, for, aside from ballad singing at social gather- ings or renditions of religious com- positions at the churches, the only other form of concert was given by Page Nine BEN BLEWETT Outstanding among the great body of men and women who have devoted their lives to the progress of public education in St. Louis during the last century is Ben Blewett. For forty years Mr. Blewett was active in the public school system as a teacher, principal, Assistant Superin- tendent of Instruction and, from 1908 to 1917, Superintendent of the St. Louis Public Schools, His leader- ship in the latter capacity was recog- nized throughout the United States as one of unusual service not only to his community but to the general field of education in America as well. Mr. Blewett was exceedingly inter- ested in the welfare of the St.ALouis teachers: and in 1916, he established the Iessie Parsons Blewett Fund for the relief of distress and the ad- vancement of professional training for teachers. Ben Blewett High School was so named as a memorial to the integrity and zeal of Mr. Blewett, the educator. LJUIS UHCHESTHA traveling groups of singers or instru- mentalists. These concerts are re- puted to have been not only few and far between but lacking in classical quality. When the Ludlow-Smith produc- tions closed in 1838, the orchestra was reluctant to disband, with the result that the first musical organiza- tion in Missouri was formed. It was called the Missouri Musical Fund Society. It was organized by Rene Paul, who was then City Surveyor, Gradually the number of St. Louis musicians increased and new or- chestras and bands were formed. Now after one hundred years St. Louis has the line St. Louis Sym- phony Orchestra under the able direction of Vladimir Golschmann.

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ST. LUUIS SEHUUL EENTENNIAL This year marks the glorious cul- mination of one hundred years of progressive education in the public schools of St. Louis. A century ago the few citizens had no idea that the educational project which they started would develop into the splen- did school system which exists now. Most of the population in that period were illiterate, but they realized their lack of education and the desperate need of public education for their children and the succeeding genera- tions. Therefore, on April 2, in 1838, the first public school was opened in St. Louis by the patriotic and civic minded people of the city. From this old-fashioned two-story school building, the glorious efforts of many valiant educators who have come and gone, have aided the edu- cational project to advance toward a shining goal-public education. The early public schools suffered from lack of funds and scarcity of trained teachers during the first ten years. The school board of the first schools had to send to the East for trained teachers to take advantage of the opportunities opened by an in- creased attendance. In 1849 the citizens of the city demonstrated their interest and confidence in the public schools by voting funds, for the first time, to maintain them. ln 1853 the first public high school west of the Mississippi River was opened in St. Louis with a principal, four teachers, and seventy pupils. It was housed on the first floor of a grade school building until the high school was built at Fifteenth and Olive Streets, then near the city limits. The same year saw the beginning of evening schools originated by Ralph Sellew. a self-made business man deeply in- terested in boys whose economic con- dition forced them into the factory rather than the school. During the years 1857-67 very notable progress was made. A school census was taken which showed that eight thousand children in the city did not attend any school. Eight new schools were built. Graded schools with one principal and one organization in each building re- placed the old system and for the first time both boys and girls were taught together by the same teacher. Later, during the period of educa- tional development known as the St. Louis Movement, the efforts of many well-known leaders, including Mr. Harris, Mr. Linoll, and Susan Blow, the schools were well de- veloped: the first kindergarten was begun in 1873, and others were established in the grade schools later. Thus through the century the public school system has grown until today it has more than one hundred fifty school buildings valued at mil- lions of dollars. These include grade schools, high schools, voca- tional schools, and colleges. Many opportunities and advan- tages are offered to the student of today which the student of yesterday never dreamed of-auditoriums, big buildings, work shops, laboratories, and equipment. ln addition to these there are a number of special schools in St. Louis for the education of the children who suffer from physical handicaps, blindness, deafness, and mental defectiveness. Such an ad- vancement would have been entirely impossible without the tireless efforts and devotion of educators and citi- zens whose influence has inspired a greater service from others. So to them we offer our deepest apprecia- tion and gratitude, and the present schools now stand as a memorial to their achievements. Page Eight

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THE IIENTENNIAL CELEBHATIUN On lune 2, a centennial celebration was held in the outdoor theater be- hind Blewett. It was in the form of a pageant consisting of a pro- logue, three episodes, and an epi- logue, each preceded by an intro- ductory statement, presenting the advancement and progress of one hundred years of education, industry, recreation, and culture. The source material was authentic records of the original early school board reports, Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer, and Godey's The Lady's Book, a woman's monthly maga- zine containing the fashions of an early period. Some of the costumes were valuable authentic fashions, while others were accurate copies of the originals. The prologue presented the color- ful life of the early St. Louisans in 1804. when on a memorable day in March in the court yard of the Government House at First and Walnut Streets, three flags-the Spanish, the French, and the Ameri- can-flew in turn above the as- sembled group of citizens. lt was then that St. Louis became a part of these great United States and the public school became an expres- sion of the democratic ideals that grew after the American occupation. Episode One depicted the thirty odd years between 1838 and 1870, during which the first school for public education was opened on April 2, 1838. lt was not until 1853, however, that the first high school, later to be called the Central High School, was initiated. Such well- known educators as Dr. William Harris and Miss Susan Blow were instrumental in the development of early public education: the former in the field of the high school, the latter in the field of the kindergarten. The conditions of the schools during the Civil War were depicted by a scene showing the dismissal of school on May 17, 1861, when the state funds were withdrawn from the sup- port of public schools and diverted to martial equipment, In Episode Two the later devel- opments from 1870 to the present day were shown and their signifi- cance to later life emphasized. The changes in education, industry, recreation, and culture from the early period to the present day, were fixed firmly in the minds of the audience by scenes from the little red school house of 1870 and the modern school: by work songs of the early untrained laborers of the '70's and the music of the skilled technicians of today: by a parade heralding such outstand- ing events as the founding of the St. Louis Cycle Club, the Browns' baseball championship, the Olympic qames, the Veiled Prophet parade. the Lindbergh flight, the Cardinals' championship, and the Municipal Opera: by a dyed-in-the-wool mel- lerdrammern of the 1870's and a dance and song from one of the pop- ular modern light operas. The last episode illustrated the conception of schools as the corner- stone of democracy. Development of education demanded that all classes be educated and trained to enable democracy to endure. In symbolic form, Democracy pleaded with St. Louis to bestow upon all of her charges the privileges which he had so generously bestowed upon some of them. Then Education showed what the schools of today had to offer. The episode closed with the triumph of Democracy se- curing the privileges of Education through the efforts of St. Louis. The entire program was summarized in the epilogue written in poetic form. Page Ten